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Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using?

Hey guys, what VPN service are you using these days in non-work context? I used to use one VPN till some years back, mostly for US Netflix content and am thinking of going for something again.

Are VPNs still good for circumventing region blocks implemented by streaming services?

What VPN would you suggest wrt good mix of privacy, cost and platform support(desktop + browser + iPhone)?

( 19 comments | 2 points | on HN )
Re:Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using? by DerekBickerton on Wednesday August 30, 2023 @01:47PM (#37325999)
Mullvad

iVPN

ProtonVPN

Re:Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using? by jnrk on Wednesday August 30, 2023 @01:49PM (#37326022)
iClouds private relay seems good enough for day-to-day security - but when I was abroad a couple of weeks ago, I used Tunnel Bear to circumvent region blocks. It's cheap and gets the job done.

I'm mostly in the Apple ecosystem (MacBook, iPhone, iPad)

Re:Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using? by aborsy on Wednesday August 30, 2023 @03:00PM (#37327198)
Keep in mind that this is limited to the Safari’s traffic. The traffic from apps or other browsers doesn’t go through iCloud relay.
Re:Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using? by KomoD on Wednesday August 30, 2023 @02:49PM (#37327006)
Pretty much exclusively Mullvad at the moment, I used to also use controld(.com)
Re:Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using? by ohpls on Wednesday August 30, 2023 @03:32PM (#37327684)
I use Mozilla's VPN.
Re:Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using? by romanhn on Wednesday August 30, 2023 @03:50PM (#37327971)
Google's VPN. I was already paying a small bit of money for extra Google Drive storage and they recently started including the VPN as part of the Google One package.
Re:Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using? by billybuckwheat on Wednesday August 30, 2023 @04:58PM (#37329028)
Proton VPN.
Re:Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using? by jethronethro on Wednesday August 30, 2023 @04:58PM (#37329032)
iVPN currently. Works well and isn't too pricey.
Re:Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using? by devonnull on Wednesday August 30, 2023 @04:59PM (#37329046)
Like a couple of other commenters, I use Proton VPN. I have an unlimited Proton account, so I decided to take advantage of that.
Re:Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using? by Ms-J on Wednesday August 30, 2023 @07:03PM (#37330268)
Don't trust services from Proton.

This link covers just the tip of some of the issues: https://web.archive.org/web/20200201174816/https://vpnscam.c...

There's also: https://web.archive.org/web/20190318213020/https://cryptome....

Re:Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using? by protonmail on Thursday August 31, 2023 @08:22AM (#37336056)
The first one is a false claim that came from a competitor, details here: https://reddit.com/r/ProtonVPN/comments/8ww4h2/protonvpn_and.... Proton's DDoS protection hasn't used Radware in years, and even if it did, the technology means the encryption cannot be bypassed. All Proton services are open source so how they work is independently verified.
Re:Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using? by Ms-J on Thursday August 31, 2023 @10:49PM (#37346202)
Even in your link people are calling out Proton's BS. Tesonet and Proton go hand in hand.

You haven't addressed any of the communities concerns. What about the second link where "Bynet Data Communications" with ties to Israel's IDF, is providing network services?

Re:Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using? by protonmail on Friday September 01, 2023 @06:24AM (#37348915)
Proton is it's own network provider, and does not use services from Bynet, and that's easy to verify: https://ip.me/ip/185.70.42.45
Re:Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using? by Ms-J on Friday September 01, 2023 @07:42PM (#37357310)
All that link shows is who is the organization and ASN behind the IP. No one could verify if Proton does or doesn't use services from Bynet Data from that info. Could you address your relationship with Tesonet?
Re:Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using? by protonmail on Monday September 04, 2023 @05:11AM (#37378620)
Run a traceroute on the IPs in our ASN and you'll be able to verify. Also see the Reddit link posted above.
Re:Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using? by Ms-J on Sunday September 10, 2023 @12:27AM (#37452902)
A traceroute won't show anything relevant to the use of other services. It will only show the path the packet follows and will omit layer 2 equipment, such as a switch. Which then can be further used to export and log data.

From your Reddit link, which I have already addressed, user common_sense7 goes into detail about the relationship with data mining Tesonet and ProtonVPN, direct link: https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonVPN/comments/8ww4h2/protonvpn... The thread was even locked by ProtonVPN's mods.

Re:Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using? by zoops on Wednesday August 30, 2023 @07:42PM (#37330592)
AdGuard VPN
Re:Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using? by sloaken on Wednesday August 30, 2023 @07:58PM (#37330754)
I have used Private Internet Access for a number of years. But as I do not see others mentioning it, I worry it might not be as good as I think.
Re:Ask HN: What VPN service are you currently using? by romanhn on Thursday August 31, 2023 @02:22AM (#37333190)
PIA definitely fell out of favor in the last few years. Here's a post noting a few issues: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21584958